An Interview with David Martin

We are excited to welcome David Martin to our Research and Data Services department. We hope that you enjoy learning more about our new colleague.

David Martin

What attracted you to this position?I was drawn to this position because it provided me with an opportunity to have each day be a unique experience. One day I might be meeting with a nursing student to go over how to run statistical tests in SAS and then the next day I might be running a workshop on data visualization. This position will offer variety and will not simply involve doing the same rote tasks day in and day out, which I find quite appealing. I also feel the position will push me to continue learning new statistical techniques, software, and tools in order to keep current in the field and to be able to best help patrons.

What most excites you about your work here?I am really excited about being to work with a diverse group of patrons, both in terms of the field in which they come from and in their level of expertise. I am looking forward to learning more about individual research projects in depth and also in helping patrons who are novices to data/research and those who have extensive experience. I am also excited by the opportunity to solve new and interesting problems that will arise daily from patrons.

What classes/workshops will you lead in the coming year?As of now, the classes/workshops are not quite nailed down, however, I will most likely be leading workshops introducing patrons to SAS, SPSS, and possibly STATA. I would also like to run more advanced versions of these workshops and move patrons past the introductory stages into data analysis and visualization. I am also thinking of developing a workshop revolving around data cleaning/wrangling and some useful tips that can make these tasks more efficient and accurate.

What has surprised you about the Library or UVA?Honestly, the lack of books at the library surprised me. It makes sense with the way things are moving, but I still have a picture in my head of a library and it is filled with journals and books. I used to work in the library at JMU and my time there was spent organizing books in the stacks, so seeing a library that was not filled with the smell of old paper was a bit surprising.

Where are you from originally/where did you grow up?I would say I am from Yorktown, Virginia, however, I was an army brat so we moved around a bunch when I was younger. Moved from Maryland, to Germany, to Kansas, to New Jersey, and then to Hampton Roads, Virginia where I spent the bulk of my childhood.

You belatedly receive your Hogwarts letter. Into which house are you sorted?RavenclawSlytherin Hufflepuff Gryffindor

I think most people would want to say that they would be in Gryffindor, but I think the sorting hat would send me to Ravenclaw. I tend to use logic and creativity to solve problems and I, although hidden at times, can be witty.

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